Jade, Wine, and Turk Training

By Kimetara

Multi-part

Disclaimer: Chapt. 17

AN: Just so you know...I mean no offense to any blondes.  I have quite a few friends that are blond and very intelligent, and a few more that at times act like they should be blond.  -____-;;

AN: I hope everybody had a merry Christmas and happy New Year!  ^_~

Chapter 22: SOLDIERly attentions

          "You'll have to watch her sometime."

          "No."

          "Matt's been guarding her for three days!  Take your turn already!"

          "Why don't YOU watch her if you're so worried about it."

          "Because it goes against orders.  Since when are you so against it anyway?  I'd been getting the impression you liked guarding her."

          "No wonder they say blondes are stupid..."

          "Hey!  I heard that!"

          "It would have been wasted if you didn't."

          "Yeah yeah smart-ass, just get going, will you?  I don't have all day to argue."

~~~~~

          Tifa tossed and turned in her bed.  They'd boarded a private ship in Junon a few days ago, and she was supposed to be sleeping.  It was near 11 pm.

          Supposed to be sleeping.  The female just couldn't get her eyes to stay closed, despite her tiredness.

         *Maybe a walk would help...*  She almost smiled at the thought.  She had always loved taking night walks.  Tifa had always preferred the night over the day, rain over the sun, winter over the summer...all her friends had thought it was strange, but that was alright.  She was always different, and truth be told, Tifa enjoyed her originality, even if it did cause her to be misunderstood at times.

          Quietly, she swung her feet over the edge of the bed.  The deck was cool beneath her feet, and Tifa savored the feeling.

          Since this was a private ship, her captors had allowed her to explore.  She'd done so eagerly, Matt following her around with his hand on his gun the whole time.

          In all honesty, she hadn't just been exploring the ship...she'd been looking for Reno too.  He hadn't guarded her since...that night.  She bit her lip at the memory.  Tifa couldn't understand why Reno was so upset this time...after all, she'd refused him before...

          Maybe that wasn't it?

          Sighing, she stood up and made her way to the door.  Peeking out, she noticed Matt wasn't around.

          As she stepped outside, her eyes caught a figure leaning on the railing.  *So that's why Matt's gone...*  "Reno?" she called softly, walking toward the railing.

          Reno didn't acknowledge her voice, keeping his gaze on the dark water below him.  Tifa silently stood next to him, the cool night breeze fluttering through her silken tresses.

          Reno's eyes shut tightly, her faint scent being carried by the wind.  But even that was only a moment's reprieve from his earlier thoughts.

          It was true, he had avoided Tifa.  She stirred up emotions he had learned to kill long ago.  He had no doubt he could kill these as well, but he needed time away.

          But here...this night, on this ship, in this ocean...

          "It was just like this," he spoke suddenly, hardly aware he was talking aloud, nor hardly caring.

          "What was?" Tifa asked quietly. 

          Reno was silent.  He had always repressed his emotions; it was too hard to willingly allow himself to speak now.  Too hard, after years of living mute, crying where only the angels and demons could hear...

          So he showed her instead.  Tifa watched as he drew out a dark object from his pocket, the faint moonlight reflecting off the tinted lenses.

          Rude's sunglasses.

          Tifa watched for a few moments, seeing his long, slender fingers playing with the accessory, before her gaze was drawn back to the dark ocean.

          "He jumped ship," Reno spoke again, his voice and eyes distant.  "Left these on the deck...  I'll bet he wanted me to find them."  For a moment, Reno's hands clenched – but carefully, so as not to damage the item they held.  His eyes, glossy  in the pale silver of the night, dropped down to stare at his hands.  "Sometimes I just want to throw them away...heh...you can't throw guilt away though," he mused, tucking the glasses back away.

          Tifa inched a bit closer to the man, wanting to offer comfort, but at the same time unsure of how he'd receive it.  Reno paid no attention, his mind far away, lost somewhere in the oblivion below.

          Hesitantly, the brunette wrapped her arms around the Turk's lean torso.  Reno felt her arms around him, her hair brushing softly against his clothing, and he resisted the urge to turn and take her in his arms.

          Tifa, seeing no resistance, grew more confident and placed her cheek on his back, lightly nuzzling the material.  This was just too much for Reno, and he turned, seeking comfort like he had two months before.

          The pair held each other, his face buried in her hair, hers laid gently on his chest, looking for all the world like lovers on a moonlit stroll.

          From her perch high above, Isa cursed quietly.

~~~~~

          Reno sighed, his mind drifting further away from Rude as Tifa filled his senses.  At any other moment, he might have tried to kiss her, but right now, he was content.

          Content.  Reno nearly started.  He'd never been content.  There was always something he needed to take care of, somebody out to kill him, something that prevented him from ever truly relaxing.

          *Until now,* he thought wryly.  There was something very wrong, that he found Tifa's presence so comforting...  He frowned for a moment, trying to find it, but quickly gave it up.  He'd think about it later – right now, he wanted to savor holding Tifa.

          "Reno!"

          Reno almost growled when a voice called his name, and looked up with annoyance at Matt.  "Yeah?  What do you want?"

          "Isa wants to see you," Matt answered uneasily, his hand going slowly to his gun as he trained his gaze on the AVALANCHE member, who had lifted her head to glance at him with a bemused expression.

          Reno felt another flash of annoyance when he saw Matt reaching for his gun.  *Idiot.*  "Alright, I'm coming," he muttered, stepping away from Tifa and walking toward the ex-general's quarters.  *Egh...Isa's either got very good or very bad timing...*

~~~~~

          Tifa watched Reno go, feeling a slight tang of regret as he walked away.  Finally, she left Matt and returned to her room, brushing her hair out as the wind had mussed it a bit.

          It wasn't until she was lying in bed and about to fall asleep that Tifa realized she'd never asked Reno why he had avoided her.

          *Oh well...I'll ask him later...*

~~~~~

          "Sit," Isa snapped tersely as Reno entered her cabin.  Reno complied.

          For a few moments, the room was silent, tension radiating from both of its occupants.

          "What," Isa finally spoke scathingly, "do you think you're doing?"  Her voice broke over Reno like an icy wave.  "I told you not to get attached to her!"

          "What are you talking about?" Reno responded coolly.

          Isa raised an eyebrow.  "Don't play stupid, you know very well what I'm talking about."

          "...I'm not attached to her."

          *Like hell you're not!*  Isa barely refrained from shouting at the obstinate Turk.  "Aren't you?" she asked instead, her voice betraying none of its owner's inner turmoil.

          "Nah," he shrugged casually.

          "Are you sure about that?" 

          "Yep."

          "Good."  Isa stood.  "Reno...I'm just warning you..."

          "I know I know."  Reno stood as well.  "Can I go now?"

          "Yes."  Reno left, and Isa massaged her temples.  *Good Lord, he's got one serious case of denial...but as long as he's in denial, it's okay.  I just pray he'll stay in it...*

          Reno's denial case wasn't quite as bad as Isa made it out to be.

          Once out of Isa's cabin, the redhead went back to leaning on the railing.  *Is she right?* he wondered.  *Is she getting too close to me?*

          Abruptly, Reno was aware of another presence next to him.  Simone.

          *What, is he going to give me a lecture on Tifa too?*  Of the three members of SOLDIER, Reno had expected one from Simone the most – especially after what he'd said before.

          To his surprise, Simone didn't comment on the female fighter.  "The sea's nice, isn't it?"

          He shrugged.  "I guess.  If you like that kinda thing."

          "Isa give you an earful?" Simone leant back nonchalantly against the rail.

          "You could say that," Reno answered dryly, watching the moonlight reflect off the obsidion depths.

          "Don't hold it against her.  She's just worried about you, that's all."  Of the three, Simone was the most open with his feelings.  Isa was terse and never admitted anything beyond disgust for Hojo, Jason was cocky and macho, but Simone was quiet, intellectual, and unlike the others, comfortable with being able to feel.

          "How do you do it?" Reno murmured.

          "Huh?  Do what?"

          "Feel."

          Simone turned around and looked out at the stars, thinking.  "...I don't think I do."

          Reno cocked an eyebrow.

          "I don't care about anything, really," Simone continued seriously.  "Because of that, I can act like I do, but nothing ever actually touches me...like..."  Simone faltered over what he was about to say.

          "Like what?" Reno pressed.

          The Wutain glanced around.  "Like Isa, and Jason – they care about each other, they would feel pain if the other died or left them.  Not so with me...I wouldn't like it, but if either of them suddenly disappeared, it wouldn't bother me much," he finished softly, trying to explain.  "You'd think I was the least likely to be so...cold, but..."

          Reno nodded.  "I see.  Why're you telling me?"

          Simone tilted his head to the side.  "Because you're the same way.  Mostly."

          True.  Reno couldn't deny the barrier he kept between himself and everybody else.  Or at least used to keep...had Tifa gotten past it?

          Impossible.  Nobody got past unless he let them.  And he had let only three people – Tseng, Rufus, and Rude.  They had all died...  He definitely wasn't planning on letting anymore people get under his skin.

          But what more could he do?  He'd tried avoiding her, he'd tried keeping things platonic, he'd be killed (or at least mauled very badly) if he tried to hurt her in any way...although at this point, Reno was really beginning to doubt he could bring himself to hurt her in the first place.  He couldn't bring himself before...

          "Hey.  Maybe you better get some sleep; tomorrow's gonna be an interesting day," Simone finally suggested.

          "Hmm?  Yeah, alright," Reno agreed.  He didn't even bother to ask why tomorrow was going to be interesting.  Lord knows there was enough on his mind already...

AN: Whew, it's OVER!  Ha HAH!

^^;;  Sorry, I've spent the past two weeks on this chapter and the previous one...but it's done now!  Yay!

BTW, lately a lot of people have been telling me I ought to make my chapters longer (so this chapter ought to be nice – it's definitely one of the longer ones!).  #^_^#  I'm flattered that you want to read more of my writing, but all I can guarantee is around 1,000 words, since I don't want to "fluff" just to make my chapters longer, y'know?  Well, don't forget to review!  =)